Article grouping system

ABSTRACT

An article grouping apparatus includes a downwardly inclined fanshaped platform adapted to columnate and transport a plurality of articles. The apparatus includes a first conveyor adapted to receive, space apart and further columnate articles from the vibrating platform and a second conveyor adapted to receive articles from the first conveyor and to transport the articles in columns for inspection and processing. The fan-shaped platform includes a plurality of troughs adapted to accommodate the articles and inclined surfaces flanking the troughs adapted to urge the articles into the troughs. Wire members connected to the inclined surface align the non-aligned articles. Discharge openings are defined on the inclined surfaces to discharge articles traveling on the inclined surfaces before the articles are deposited onto the first conveyor.

United States Patent 1 1 Fort [ ARTICLE GROUPING SYSTEM 75 inventor:Faifiiii'iFr'ETriHEiEfThHf [73] Assignee: Lynch Machinery, Anderson,Ind.

[22] Filed: Dec. 17, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 99,008

Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka Azt0rneyMo1inare, Allegretti, Newitt &Witcoff 00 DUO [451 Aug. 14, 1973 [5 7 ABSTRACT An article groupingapparatus includes a downwardly inclined fanshaped platform adapted tocolumnate and transport a plurality of articles. The apparatus includesa first conveyor adapted to receive, space apart and further columnatearticles from the vibrating platform and a second conveyor adapted toreceive articles from the first conveyor and to transport the articlesin columns for inspection and processing.

The fan-shaped platform includes a plurality of troughs adapted toaccommodate the articles and inclined surfaces flanking the troughsadapted to urge the articles into the troughs. Wire members connected tothe inclined surface align the non-aligned articles. Discharge openingsare defined on the inclined surfaces to discharge articles traveling onthe inclined surfaces before the articles are deposited onto the firstconveyor.

19 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures a ,IIII'II 5g 3g 2 Milli-Quinn 1 I 72 "m.92 6%?) z 32 4 70 70 "I j [I DDU Patented Aug. 14, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Patented Aug. 14, 1973 3 SheetsSheet 5 ARTICLE GROUPING SYSTEMBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Grouping systems have been devised in theprior art for the grouping of uniformly shaped articles. An example ofsuch prior art device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,672 by W. A.Stutske et al., entitled Vibratory Grouping Apparatus. The Stutskedevice is adapted for use with another grouping apparatus disclosed inthe U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 670,906 by Bruce Mottweiler entitledConveying System, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,213.

In the Stutske Vibratory Grouping Apparatus, a vibrating platformdownwardly inclined in the direction of article travel is provided. Theplatform includes a number of troughs having surfaces flanking eachtrough and inclined downwardly toward the troughs. These inclinedsurfaces have vane guide members connected thereto and adapted to divertarticles into the bottom surfaces of the troughs. In this manner thearticles are urged into columns along the bottom surfaces of thetroughs. In the Mottweiler device, a number of spaced rows fortransporting articles are provided together with apparatus for divertingthe outermost rows of articles moving from the conveyor to a series ofprocessing machines.

Although the Stutske apparatus functions generally to align articlesinto columns, it was not adapted for use with over square shapedarticles. These are articles having the length thereof slightly greaterthan the width thereof. It has been found that such articles are verydifficult to align into lengthwise moving columns. The improved groupingapparatus of this invention is designed to alleviate this and otherproblems.

This invention is generally related to an improved article groupingapparatus. The invention is designed to continually columnate and groupa number of.over square" articles such as candy bars. In the processingof such articles, it is desirable to transport such articles toprocessing machines in columns with the articles arranged uniformly. Itis also desirable to align and transport such articles in an efficientmanner with a minimum of jamming of the articles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to animproved article grouping apparatus to align articles in at least onecolumn. The improved grouping apparatus comprises generally an articlereceiving platform mounted to a base for vibratory movement and inclineddownwardly in the direction of article travel. The platform includes atleast one trough adapted to accommodate the articles in a column. Asurface is inclined downwardly toward the trough on one side thereof forinducing the articles into the trough. At least one article group breakupguide member is connected to the receiving end of the platform at anangle with respect to the trough. The guide member is adapted to funnelthe articles into the trough. Means for continuously vibrating theplatform are connected to the platform so that the articles may be moveddownwardly along the platform in response to vibration thereof.

This invention also includes a first conveyor having an endlessrotatable belt for receiving articles from the lower end of theplatform. Two sets of guide plows with at least one guide plow in eachset are connected to the conveyor. The first set of plows is connectedto receive the articles from the platform and move them in the directionof belt travel and towards one side of the conveyor belt. The second setof plows is connected to receive articles from the first set of plowsand move them in the direction of belt travel and towards the oppositeside of the conveyor belt.

In a preferred embodiment the vibrating platform includes U-shaped wiremembers connected thereto and adapted to align non-aligned articles.Discharge openings are defined downwardly in the direction of articletravel with respect to the wire members on the inclined surfaces of thetroughs. The non-aligned articles passing over the U-shaped wire membersare discharged from the platform through the discharge openings beforebeing deposited on the first conveyor.

Also in a preferred embodiment, a second conveyor is provided havingguide rods adapted to receive articles from the second set of guideplows and guide the articles from the first conveyor to the secondconveyor. The second conveyor also includes tapered guides adapted toreceive articles from the guide rods so that the articles are aligned,columnated and moved close together for further processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view of a portion ofthe improved article grouping apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 1A is a top view of the other portion of the apparatus of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 2A is a side view of the apparatus of this invention shown in FIG.1A;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the article receiving end of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the article receiving platform shownin FIG. 1 taken substantially along the lines 44;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the article receiv' ing platformshown in FIG. 1 taken substantially along the lines 5-5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRE EMBODIMENT An overall view of theimproved article grouping apparatus 10 of this invention is shown inFIGS. 1 and 1A. The articles 12 such as candy bars which are groupingapparatus 10 is designed to columnate and align are shown generally ashaving over square" shape. In other words, the length of these articlesis slightly greater than the width. These articles 12 move from left toright as shown in FIG. 1. The articles 12 are supplied to The groupingapparatus 10 by means of a feeding conveyor 14 having a continuouslyrotatable feedbelt 16 rotating about a fixed roller member 18.

The grouping apparatus 10 generally includes a fanshaped articlereceiving platform'20, a first conveyor 22 and a second conveyor 24. Thefirst conveyor 22 is positioned to receive articles 12 from the platform20. The second conveyor 24 is positioned to receive articles 12 from thefirst conveyor 22. For greater clarity, these components of the overallgrouping apparatus 10 will be described individually.

THE ARTICLE RECEIVING PLATFORM Referring generally to FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and2A the platform 20 is separated into two platform sections 26 and 28.These sections 26 and 28 are inclined downwardly in the direction ofarticle travel. The angle of inclination is approximately although thismay be varied for various applications. The articles 12 are moved alongthe vibrating platform 20 by a combination of vibrational andgravitational forces. It has been found that the separation of theplatform into two platform sections 26 and 28 facilitates the vibrationof the platform 20 and, therefore, the movement of articles 12.

Sections 26 and 28 are separately connected at article receiving ends 30and 32 to vibratory drivers 34 and 36. The driver 36 is connected to abase 38 by means of a spring member 40. It is to be understood that thedriver 34 is similarly connected to the base 38, although suchconnection does not appear in the side view of FIG. 2.

Article depositing end 44 of section 28 is connected to the base 38 bymeans of a spring member 46. It is to be understood that the articledepositing end 42 of the platform section 26 is similarly connected tothe base 38, although this connection also does not appear in the sideview of FIG. 2.

The axes of the drivers 34 and 36 are connected to the platform sections26 and 28 at a predetermined angle with respect to the channel 52. Thepredetermined angle obtains an optimum combination of the rate of flowof the articles 12 down the vibrating platform 20 and of the force ofthe guide members 66 against the articles 12 as they are broken up fromgroups 68 into individually aligned articles 12.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. I, the articles 12, such ascandy bars, are delivered on the endless conveyor belt 16 in rowscomprising seven groups of three articles in each group. These articles12 are delivered to the leading edges 48 and 50 respectively of thevibrating platform sections 26 and 28. The platform 20 includes sevenseparate troughs 52. Four of the troughs 52 are contained upon platformsection 26 and the remaining three troughs 52 are contained on platformsection 28. These troughs 52 are tapered together in the direction ofarticle travel to bring the articles 12 close together as the articles12 travel from left to right. Although the geometry of the troughs 52varies slightly according to the position of the trough 52 on thevibrating platform 20, the elements of the troughs 52 are substantiallyidentical and, therefore, a description of one of the troughs 52 willserve to fully describe the remaining six troughs 52.

As may be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the trough 52 includes a bottomsection 56 and upright side sections 58 to 60. A surface 64 is graduallyinclined toward the side section 58 of the trough 52.

The articles 12 are of "over square" shape, each having its lengthsomewhat greater than its width. The trough 52 is defined to accommodatethe articles 12 lengthwise, singlely in a column along the trough 52with one side of each article 12 adjacent the side surface 58 and theother side of each article 12 adjacent the side surface 60 of the trough52.

Trough 52 includes article group break up guide member 66. The guidemember 66 is connected at an angle of approximately 30 from thedirection of travel of articles on the feeding conveyor 14. The guidemember 66 tapers downwardly toward the side surface 60. During theoperation of the grouping apparatus 10, each of the groups 68 ofarticles 12 is broken up for columnation against the guide member 66.The groups 68 of articles 12 are referred to for convenience sake. Inactual operation the articles 12 are equally spaced apart on the feedconveyor. The leading edge 69 of the gradually inclined surface 64diverts the articles 12 onto the trough 52.

It has been found that with articles 12 such as over square" candy bars,approximately 70 percent of the articles 12 are broken up onto singlefile columns within the troughs 52. As will be described hereafter, thisinvention includes means for aligning substatially all of the remaining30 percent of the articles 12 still not aligned.

Two article aligning members which take the form of U-shaped wiremembers 70 are connected as by soldering to the gradually inclinedsurface 64. When the nonaligned articles 12 pass these wire members 70,they are either urged into alignment or caused to jump over the wiremembers 70. The wire members 70 align a maximum number of the articles12 without causing any jamming of the articles 12 as they move thereby.A discharge opening 72 is defined on the surface 64 downwardly of thewire members 70. In the event that an article 12 jumps over both wiremembers 70, without being aligned, such an article 12 is dischargedthrough the discharge opening 72 which is nearby the article depositingend 74 of the platform 20. An upwardly extending abutment 76 isconnected to the gradually inclined surface adjacent the dischargeopening 72. The abutment member 76 cooperates with the discharge opening72 to unload the non-aligned articles 12 which pass overthe opening 72.

It is important to discharge such articles 12 since the platform 20 issensitive to over loading. When the platform 20 receives a flow ofarticles 12 in excess of its capacity, the excess may be readilydischarged through opening 72.

THE FIRST TAKE-OFF CONVEYOR The first conveyor 22 is provided to receivethe articles 12 from the platform 20. The width of the conveyor 22 iswider than the width of the article depositing'end 74 of the platform20. The conveyor 22 includes an endless rotatable belt 80 which rotatesto move the articles 12 toward the right as shown in FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and2A. The articles 12 on the end 74 of the platform 20 are grouped sodensely that orientation of the non-aligned articles is difficult. Theendless belt 80 is rotated at a speed greater than the speed of movementof the articles 12 along the vibrating platform 20 so that the articles12 are spaced apart along the conveyor 22. This spacing of the articles12 on the belt 80 facilitates alignment of those articles 12 which arenot aligned on the platform 20.

The conveyor 22 includes a first set of substantially identical guideplows 82. These plows 82 are formed of stainless steel, but may beformed of other suitable material. Only one of the guide plows 82 willbe described and it is understood that this description applies to allseven guide plows 82. A threaded shaft 84 is rigidly connected tomounting brackets 86 at opposite sides of the conveyor 22. In likemanner a threaded shaft 88 is rigidly connected across the endless belt80 to mounting brackets 90 at opposite sides of the conveyor 22. Theguide plow 82 is connected between shafts 84 and 88 by means ofadjustable fixtures 92 and 94 which may be moved along the length of thethreaded shafts 84 and 88 to provide the desired angle for the guideplow 82 with respect to the direction of travel of the endless belt 80.

It has been found that approximately of the articles 12 are non-alignedafter passing the article discharge end 74 of the vibrating platform 20.The guide plows 82 are mounted at an angle less than 45 toward one side96 of the conveyor 22 so that when the articles 12 are discharged on tothe endless belt 80, they are moved both in the direction of belttravel, and sideways across the belt 80. In this manner, the friction ofthe plows 82 against the articles 12 urges the non-aligned articles 12to rotate clockwise into alignment.

A second set of guide plows 98 formed of stainless steel are connectedto the conveyor 22 by means of threaded shafts 100 and 102 andadjustable guide fixtures 104 and 105. The shafts 100 and 102 aresuspended above the conveyor 22 by mounting brackets 101 and 103respectively. The plow guides 98 are directed at an angle less than 45toward the opposite side 106 of the conveyor 22.

Because the articles 12 are moved toward the opposite side 106 of theconveyor 22, friction between the article 12 and plows 98 acts to rotatethe non-aligned articles 12 counterclockwise into alignment. By rotatingthe non-aligned articles 12 first one way and then the other way, amaximum number of articles 12 are aligned.

The angle by which the plows 98 deviate from the direction of travel ofthe belt 80 is somewhat less than the angle of the plows 82 away fromthe direction of belt travel. This design allows the articles 12 tostabilize during the transfer from plows 82 to plows 98. Suchstabilization is important since some of the articles 12 may be rotatingagainst the first set of plows 82.

THE SECOND TAKE-OFF CONVEYOR After passing the second set of guide plows98, the articles enter a section of guide rods 108 formed of stainlesssteel or other suitable material. These guide rods 108 are connectedbetween conveyor 22 and a second conveyor 24 as follows. A threadedshaft 110 is connected across the article depositing end of conveyor 22by means of mounting brackets 111. Another threaded shaft 112 isconnected across the center portion of conveyor 24 by means of mountingbrackets 115. The guide rods 108 are connected between the shaft 110 and112 by means of adjustable fixtures 113 and 1140.

As may be seen in side view of FIG. 2A, these guide rods 108 arerelatively shorter in height than the second set of guide plows 98. Thesize of the guide rods 108 allows an operator to observe and monitor thearticles 12 moving thereby, and if necessary, to reject any articles 12having faults. The articles 12 are moved along the conveyor 24 by meansof an endless rotatable belt 116. This belt is mounted between rollers118 and 120. The guide rods 108 are connected substantially parallel tothe direction of travel of belt 116, although the rods 108 may be easilyadjusted at a different angle.

After the articles 12 are discharged from the guide rods 108, they arechanneled into tapering lane guide rails 114 of stainless steel or othersuitable material. The guide rails 114 taper together in the directionof article travel (towards the right). In this manner, the articles arebrought closer together for discharge from the endless belt 116.

The rails 114 are connected to the conveyor 24 by means of threadedshafts 122, 124 and 126. These shafts are suspended across the conveyor24 by mounting brackets 128, 130 and 132. The rails 114 are rigidlyconnected between the shafts 122, 124 and 126 by means of adjustablefixtures 134, 136 and 138 respectively. There are two guide rails 114for each column of articles 12. Thus, the rotational freedom of thearticles 12 is negligable and the articles 12 may be fed for furtherprocessing in uniform, proximate columns at the end of second conveyor24 With the improved grouping apparatus 10 of this invention, it ispossible to columnate and transport groups of articles 12 with a minimumof jamming and a maximum of efficiency. In the preferred embodimentwhich has been described, the articles 12 travel from an endless belt 16towards the grouping apparatus 10 of this invention in rows of 21articles per row, each row having seven groups of three articles pergroup.

It has been found that the improved grouping apparatus 10 of thisinvention may employ five troughs 52 receiving rows of articles, eachrow having five groups of four articles per group. This and othercombinations may be employed without departing from the principals ofthis invention.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the articles 12 are candybars having dimensions of approximately l-l9/32 inches wide byfifteen-sixteenths inches high by l-5/8 inches long. The apparatus ofthis invention may also be adapted for other articles. In FIG. 1, thearticles 12 are fed to the grouping apparatus on an endless feedbelt 16which belt is approximately 42 inches wide and 4 feet in total length.It has been found that the improved article grouping apparatus 10 canadequately accommodate the articles 12 moving toward the apparatus 10 ata rate of 110 articles per column of articles per minute. Thiscorresponds to a speed of 55 feet per minute for the feedbelt 16 withthe article rows spaced approximately 6 inches from center to center.

The product flow across the vibrating platform 20 is at the rate ofapproximately 65 feet per minute. The endless belt on the first conveyor22 is rotated at a speed greater than the speed of article travel alongthe vibrating platform 20 so that the articles 12 may be spaced apartalong the conveyor 22 for easy alignment. In a preferred operation, thebelt 80 is run at approximately 130 feet per minute. The belt speed ofthe endless belt 116 on the second conveyor 24 is relatively slower thanthe speed of the first conveyor belt 80. This slower speed allows aslower product flow and helps the observing and monitoring of thearticles 12 as they pass the guide rods 108 on the conveyor 24. In apreferred operation, the speed of the endless belt 1 16 on the conveyor24 is feet per minute. These and other operational specifications may beemployed in utilizing the present invention.

While in the foregoing there has been described a presently preferredembodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood thatnumerous modifications may be made to this invention without departingfrom the true spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An article grouping apparatus for axially aligning articles into atleast one column, said articles being of the type which are at leastslightly out of square, said apparatus comprising, in combination, abase, an article receiving platform having an article receiving end andan exit end and being mounted on said base, said platform being inclineddownwardly in the direction of travel of said articles, at least onetrough means on said platform for accommodating said articles in saidone column, a first surface on one side of said trough means, saidsurface being inclined downwardly toward said trough means, at least oneguide means at the said article receiving end of said platform, saidguide means being mounted angularly of said trough means and beingupstream of said trough means for guiding said articles into said troughmeans, an opening in said inclined surface near said exit end fordischarging articles which have not been aligned, and means forvibrating said platform for assisting in moving and axially aligningsaid articles along said platform.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including at least one articlealigning member connected to said inclined surface and adapted to engageand align nonaligned articles moving thereby.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said article aligningmember is a substantially U-shaped wire member having ends which areconnected to said first inclined surface.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 including a plurality of saidwire members connected to said first inclined surface.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including seven troughs andassociated guide means adapted to receive the articles arranged intransverse rows having seven groups of articles with three articles ineach group, each of said troughs adapted to receive one group of saidarticles. I

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 including an abutmentconnected to said inclined surface adjacent said discharge opening andintermediate the opening and the article exit end of said platform andadapted to cooperate with said opening to discharge non-aligned articlesthere through.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said vibrating means isconnected to said platform at an angle with respect to said through.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said platform includesa plurality of said troughs and said associated guide means and saidplatform is divided into at least two separate platform sections mountedseparately to said base.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein said vibrating meansincludes at least two drive means separately connected to each of saidplatform sections for separately vibrating each of said sections.

10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said inclined surfaceis inclined gradually downward toward said troughs.

11. An article grouping apparatus for transporting and axially aligningsubstantially flat articles into at least two columns said articlesbeing of the type which are at least slightly out of square, saidapparatus comprising, in combination, means for receiving said articles,elongated trough means in said receiving means for accommodating saidarticles in at least two uniform columns, said receiving means and saidtrough means being inclined downwardly in the direction of articletravel, means for vibrating said receiving means for assisting in movingand aligning said articles along said receiving means, first moving beltconveyor means for receiving said articles passing from the lower end ofsaid receiving means, first and second spaced, fixed guide plow meansmounted above said belt conveyor means and mounted at a first acuteangle with respect to the direction of movement of said belt conveyormeans and being directed towards one side of said belt conveyor means,said fixed guide plow means being spaced apart a distance which isgreater than the major dimension of said articles, said conveyor meanscontacting one entire surface of each of said articles and moving saidarticles both with said conveyor means and laterally against said guideplow means while rotating said non-aligned articles in one directioninto an axially aligned condition with other aligned articles as aresult of the frictional effect from said guide plow means actingagainst said articles moving with said conveyor means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said fixed guide plow means andsaid belt conveyor means are level.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 including second fixed guide plow meansaligned for receiving said articles from said first guide plow means,said second guide plow means being mounted above said belt conveyormeans and being mounted at a second acute angle with respect to thedirection of movement of said belt conveyor means and towards the otherside of said belt conveyor means, said conveyor means moving saidarticles both with said conveyor means and laterally against said secondguide plow means for rotating nonaligned articles in an oppositedirection into the axially aligned condition with other of said alignedarticles as a result of the frictional effect from said second guideplow means acting against said articles moving with said conveyor means.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said second angle is less thansaid first angle for stabilizing said articles in passing from saidfirst guide plow means to said second guide plow means.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 including second conveyor belt means forreceiving and transporting articles away from said first belt conveyormeans, elongated means mounted above said conveyor means for guidingsaid articles into an aligned condition along said second conveyor meansfor readily observing and monitoring said aligned articles.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 including at least one pair of guide railmeans mounted above said second belt conveyor means and being taperedtoward each other in the direction of article travel for receiving saidarticles from said guiding means for completing the aligning andcolumnating of said articles for further processing,

17. A method for axially aligning substantially flat articles into atleast two columns, said articles being of the type which are slightlyout of square, said method comprising the steps of moving said articlesalong an inclined path of travel, axially aligning at least a portion ofsaid articles into at least two spaced single columns during movement insaid inclined path of travel, discharging at least a portion of saidarticles which have not been aligned, moving said non-dischargedarticles in a flattened condition in said columns and along a path oftravel, providing a pair of fixed guide means for each of said columns,spacing each pair of said guide means apart a distance which is greaterthan the major dimension of said articles, passing said columns ofarticles between said guide means, rotating non-aligned articles in saidflattened condition. by frictional forces'of said non-aligned articlesacting laterally against at least one of said guide means duringmovement along said path of travel into said axially aligned path oftravel, and passing said aligned articles from said path of travel forfurther processing.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said rotating step includes firstrotating said articles in one direction and then rotating said articlesin an opposite direction, and said path of travel is level.

19. An article grouping apparatus for transporting and axially aligningarticles into at least one column, said articles being of the type whichare at least slightly out of square, said apparatus comprising, incombination, means for receiving said articles, elongated trough meansin said receiving means for accommodating said articles in at least oneuniform column, said receiving means and said trough means beinginclined downwardly in the direction of article travel, means forvibrating said receiving means for assisting in moving and aligning saidarticles along said receiving means, first belt conveyor means forreceiving said articles passing from the lower end of said receivingmeans, means in said receiving means for discharging non-alignedarticles from said apparatus before said articles pass to said firstbelt conveyor means, first fixed guide plow means mounted above saidbelt conveyor means and mounted at a first acute angle with respect tothe direction of movement of said belt conveyor means and being directedtowards one side of said belt conveyor means, said conveyor means movingsaid articles both with said conveyor means and laterally against saidguide plow means while rotating said non-aligned articles in onedirection into an axially aligned condition with other aligned articlesas a result of the frictional effect from said guide plow means.

' k t I

1. An article grouping apparatus for axially aligning articles into atleast one column, said articles being of the type which are at leastslightly out of square, said apparatus comprising, in combination, abase, an article receiving platform having an article receiving end andan exit end and being mounted on said base, said platform being inclineddownwardly in the direction of travel of said articles, at least onetrough means on said platform for accommodating said articles in saidone column, a first surface on one side of said trough means, saidsurface being inclined downwardly toward said trough means, at least oneguide means at the said article receiving end of said platform, saidguide means being mounted angularly of said trough means and beingupstream of said trough means for guiding said articles into said troughmeans, an opening in said inclined surface near said exit end fordischarging articles which have not been aligned, and means forvibrating said platform for assisting in moving and axially aligningsaid articles along said platform.
 2. The apparatus as set forth inclaim 1 including at least one article aligning member connected to saidinclined surface and adapted to engage and align non-aligned articlesmoving thereby.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein saidarticle aligning member is a substantially U-shaped wire member havingends which are connected to said first inclined surface.
 4. Thecombination as set forth in claim 3 including a plurality of said wiremembers connected to said first inclined surface.
 5. The apparatus asset forth in claim 1 including seven troughs and associated guide meansadapted to receive the articles arranged in transverse rows having sevengroups of articles with three articles in each group, each of saidtroughs adapted to receive one group of said articles.
 6. Thecombination as set forth in claim 1 including an abutment connected tosaid inclined surface adjacent said discharge opening and intermediatethe opening and the article exit end of said platform and adapted tocooperate with said opening to discharge non-aligned articles therethrough.
 7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said vibratingmeans is connected to said platform at an angle with respect to saidthrough.
 8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said platformincludes a plurality of said troughs and said associated guide means andsaid platform is divided into at least two separate platform sectionsmounted separately to said base.
 9. The combination as set forth inclaim 8 wherein said vibrating means includes at least two drive meansseparately connected to each of said platform sections for separatelyvibrating each of said sections.
 10. The apparatus as set forth in claim1 wherein said inclined surface is inclined gradually downward towardsaid troughs.
 11. An article grouping apparatus for transporting andaxially aligning substantially flat articles into at least two columnssaid articles being of the type which are at least slightly out ofsquare, said apparatus comprising, in combination, means for receivingsaid articles, elongated trough means in said receiving means foraccommodating said articles in at least two uniform columns, saidreceiving means and said trough means being inclined downwardly in thedirection of article travel, means for vibrating said receiving meansfor assisting in moving and aligning said articles along said receivingmeans, first moving belt conveyor means for receiving said articlespassing from the lower end of said receiving means, first and secondspaced, fixed guide plow means mounted above said belt conveyor meansand mounted at a first acute angle with respect to the direction ofmovement of said belt conveyor means and being directed towards one sideof said belt conveyor means, said fixed guide plow means being spacedapart a distance which is greater than the major dimension of saidarticles, said conveyor means contacting one entire surface of each ofsaid articles and moving said articles both with said conveyor means andlaterally against said guide plow means while rotating said non-alignedarticles in one direction into an axially aligned condition with otheraligned articles as a result of the frictional effect from said guideplow means acting against said articles moving with said conveyor means.12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said fixed guide plow means andsaid belt conveyor means are level.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11including second fixed guide plow means aligned for receiving saidarticles from said first guide plow means, said second guide plow meansbeing mounted above said belt conveyor means and being mounted at asecond acute angle with respect to the direction of movement of saidbelt conveyor means and towards the other side of said belt conveyormeans, said conveyor means moving said articles both with said conveyormeans and laterally against said second guide plow means for rotatingnon-aligned articles in an opposite direction into the axially alignedcondition with other of said aligned articles as a result of thefrictional effect from said second guide plow means acting against saidarticles moving with said conveyor means.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13wherein said second angle is less than said first angle for stabilizingsaid articles in passing from said first guide plow means to said secondguide plow means.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11 including secondconveyor belt means for receiving and transporting articles away fromsaid first belt conveyor means, elongated means mounted above saidconveyor means for guiding said articles into an aligned condition alongsaid second conveyor means for readily observing and monitoring saidaligned articles.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15 including at least onepair of guide rail means mounted above said second belt conveyor meansand being tapered toward each other in the direction of article travelfor receiving said articles from said guiding means for completing thealigning and columnating of said articles for further processing.
 17. Amethod for axially aligning substantially flat articles into at leasttwo columns, said articles being of the type which are slightly out ofsquare, said method comprising the steps of moving said articles alongan inclined path of travel, axially aligning at least a portion of saidarticles into at least two spaced single columns during movement in saidinclined path of travel, discharging at least a portion of said articleswhich have not been aligned, moving said non-discharged articles in aflattened condition in said columns and along a path of travel,providing a pair of fixed guide means for each of said columns, spacingeach pair of said guide means apart a distance which is greater than themajor dimension of said articles, passing said columns of articlesbetween said guide means, rotating non-aligned articles in saidflattened condition, by frictional forces of said non-aligned articlesacting laterally against at least one of said guide means duringmovement along said path of travel into said axially aligned path oftravel, and passing said aligned articles from said path of travel forfurther processing.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein said rotatingstep includes first rotating said articles in one direction and thenrotating said articles in an opposite direction, and said path of travelis level.
 19. An article grouping apparatus for transporting and axiallyaligning articles into at least one column, said articles being of thetype which are at least slightly out of square, said apparatuscomprising, in combination, means for receiving said articles, elongatedtrough means in said receiving means for accommodating said articles inat least one uniform column, said receiving means and said trough meansbeing inclined downwardly in the direction of article travel, means forvibrating said receiving means for assisting in moving and aligning saidarticles along said receiving means, first belt conveyor means forreceiving said articles passing from the lower end of said receivingmeans, means in said receiving means for discharging non-alignedarticles from said apparatus before said articles pass to said firstbelt conveyor means, first fixed guide plow means mounted above saidbelt conveyor means and mounted at a first acute angle with respect tothe direction of movement of said belt conveyor means and being directedtowards one side of said belt conveyor means, said conveyor means movingsaid articles both with said conveyor means and laterally against saidguide plow means while rotating said non-aligned articles in onedirection into an axially aligned condition with other aligned articlesas a result of the frictional effect from said guide plow means.